


these bottles will carry my heart home

by yeosangies



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, I cried writing this, M/M, Not Beta Read, Past Character Death, They are so in love, character death is pre established
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeosangies/pseuds/yeosangies
Summary: yeosang always liked how the waves crashed against the shore.
Relationships: Kang Yeosang/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 21
Kudos: 46





	these bottles will carry my heart home

yeosang always liked how the waves crashed against the shore. he found himself back at the ocean during uncertain times; times much like these. the wet sand pressed under his feet as he walked alongside the water with the tides lapping at his feet always felt therapeutic to him, bringing him to a state of ease under the bright moon that night. that _night._ no matter how much he tried to forget it, he simply could not. he could remember it as though it were yesterday, feet planted on the pier as he stared out at the vast seas. the calm sweeping of the water could never quite sum up the true violence of its nature. the water he had once loved; the ocean that made him feel so at home had now turned into one of his worst foes. it was that same ocean that had ripped his love away from, pried him right from yeosang’s grasp and thrown him into the deep unknown. 

that night had always played in yeosang’s mind like a broken record. all he could think of was the cool air biting his skin as he sat at the edge of the pier for days, waiting for his love to come home to his warm embrace once more. but no matter how long he waited, no matter how hard he searched the horizon, he had never come. without the warmth of his lover by his side, he had grown completely cold. 

the two had met through a mutual love for the sea. it was like something straight from a movie: yeosang was a surfer, the beach his home away from home, and seonghwa was a sailor. it was love at first sight, the two quickly getting to know each other and becoming a thing. prom kings in high school to fiances in college, they had a love so strong it was impenetrable. nothing, and no one could break it no matter how hard they may have tried. 

except for the one thing that had brought them together in the first place. 

those days were like fresh wounds to yeosang. no matter what he did, the throbbing aches of the pain always silently reminded him of their presence. he could still feel seonghwa’s hand in the back pocket of his jeans as they stood idly by the sea in silence, listening in on the waves rolling in the distance. he could still feel his lips against his neck in the morning, his one incentive to ever get out of bed at a decent time. he could still feel him in everything. he could feel his back pressed against his chest as they had curled up in bed to sleep, his fingers intertwined in his own as he walked along the streets of the small town they grew up in, his body on his as they made love under the dim glow of the moonlight with silent promises of their eternal love. 

no matter how hard he tried to wipe those thoughts from his mind, he just couldn’t. they were as stubborn and unwavering as his love that burned just as bright as it had when he and seonghwa first met. 

the ocean was so pretty that night. the waves were at peace, sweeping lazily across the sand. it was cool, yet not uncomfortably so, a perfectly peaceful summer evening. evenings like these were ones where he and seonghwa would trek from their little house on the beach to a clear spot in the sand. they'd set a blanket there and lay in each other's arms until the sun graced the horizon, painting the sky in pretty shades of yellow and orange. 

yeosang couldn't get seonghwa off his mind. 

as he walked down the beach, just about to turn around and head back to his small house perched upon the sand he once shared, he had spotted something glistening in the moonlight. stepping towards it, he realized that it was a bottle. grabbing the neck, he pulled it from the sand with little resistance, brushing any stray particles off of it to glance inside. 

in the bottle was a rolled up piece of paper. he had never encountered a message in a bottle before, and he found his heart fluttering as he moved to sit cross legged in the sand. pulling the cork from the glass, he turned it upside down and gave it a little shake until the paper fell out. 

he pressed the cork back into the bottle and uncurled the piece of paper, reading what was on the page. immediately, he felt his heart lurch in his chest. that handwriting…

_dear, yeosang,_

_if you are reading this, then that means that you have safely received my letter. if you are reading this and your name isn't kang yeosang, then please tuck this letter back into the bottle and send it out to the sea once more. i know that the water will carry it to my love one day._

_yeosang: my prince, my baby, my world. as i write this letter, i am certain that i will die. the currents are too strong, the tides too big. part of my sail has ripped from such strong gusts. i have accepted the fact that i will die at sea, but i know that you, my love, are still struggling._

_one thing i have always admired about you is how strong you are in just about every single way. you're such a strong willed person, you harbor such strong emotions, everything about you is as bold as the tides you'd surf._

_there are many things i love about you, if not all. you are my soulmate, my treasure, my everything. when i took this voyage out to sea, i didn't intend to leave you. perhaps i shouldn't of grown so trusting with the water, from how long i've been out on it i should have known of the dangers it holds._

_do you remember our wedding day, yeosang? we got married right on the beach, had the reception at our little shack we called home. looking back at it, i can't help but admire the house we built for ourselves, even if the rain water would leak through the roof and always drip onto that one part of our living room floor (have you fixed it yet? i know you always said you would)._

_ah, i got distracted. our wedding. sometimes, i remember how beautiful you looked that day. the white flowers you wore in your hair were stunning, but you were the true work of art on that day. i like to think back to how right it felt to hold you in my arms as we slow danced under the rising moon, proclaiming our love to each other. everyone says that something always goes wrong in a wedding, but they simply had just never been to ours._

_yeosang, i know that you are angry at the ocean. i know how much hatred you hold for it. your stubbornness will be your demise. the ocean may have taken me, but if you received this letter, then it has also brought my heart back home to you once more. it will take a while to heal, i am certain, but i hope that you will find it in you to forgive the ocean for what it has done._

_we are destined to be together, and i know that for a fact. my love, i was with you in past life times, and will be waiting for you in our next. please, do not rush your journey, you know i am a patient man. live your life as though i am still there. love as freely as you have in the past. and most importantly, yeosang, grab your board and ride those waves you love so much in my name. i have an inkling that you haven't since my passing._

_please remember that my heart will always lie with you. you are my true love, and will be for all of eternity. i know you are destined to live a long and fulfilling life, even if i am not present during it. i hope that you can look back at this message and remember me, remember the love that we had._

_yeosang. i love you. i love you, i love you, i love you._

_i will see you in our next life._

_love,_

_seonghwa_

yeosang stared at the letter in his hands, absolutely stunned. it wasn't until he watched a large drop of water fall on the ink and smear some of the letters that he snapped out of his trance. was he crying? when had he begun to cry? wiping his tears away with the back of his hand, he found himself reading the letter over again. and again. and again. he read the same words until the sun had risen above the water, making itself known in the morning sky. 

pulling the cork from the bottle once more, yeosang rolled the letter back up and slid it back in before pushing the cork back in. standing from the beach, he brushed the sand off of him before making his way back to the little shack that he and seonghwa built together. stepping in, he heard the familiar dripping of the water as it pattered against the hardwood floors. 

yeosang had decided that he was going to live his life exactly how seonghwa wanted him to; to the fullest. placing the bottle gingerly on the counter, he retreated to the back room where all of his surfboards lined the walls. changing into his wetsuit he had tucked off to the side, he grabbed onto the board that seonghwa had painted for him as an anniversary gift and headed back out towards the water. 

he would love the ocean again. he would give the water another chance. yeah, it had taken his love away from him; ripped him straight from his unrelenting grasp. but it had also brought seonghwa back to him, and for that, he was willing to give it another chance. 

all for _him._

**Author's Note:**

> wow i really cried my eyes out writing this LMAO 
> 
> i hope u all enjoyed! please leave a comment, i love reading them <3
> 
> also sorry for any typos i didn't proof read it at all cause i actually hate writing/reading angst so much but i was sad so. this happened. feel free to point out any typos n ill fix them lol


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